Looking to do some work to my cav. Here's what I'm thinking but looking for tips/advice/opinions.

Exhaust
Thinking about a cat-back kit but was also told to look into getting a custom bent pipe and throwing on an aftermarket muffler. I haven't ruled out a complete change, including header and cat. Going with 2.25" piping. Thoughts?

Suspension
I'm thinking of adding strut bars and maybe a sway bar kit. Should I go with both or just the strut bars?

Trying to decide whether I want to go with coil-overs or just lowering springs. I don't want to drop the car to much, maybe 1-1.5" in the front and 1.5-2" for the back.


Intake
I'd like to do this at the same time that I do my exhaust. Should I go with a complete CAI or just a short intake.

Also, what's the bolt pattern for a cav? I want to get rims after I lower it and am thinking of 17s as 18s might be cutting it too close. Tips?

New too all of this and have been doing some reading and spoke to a few shops but I want to get some advice from someone that has worked on j-bodies.

exhaust: as far as the piping....go with whatever is cheaper. usually custom is cheaper but it depends on the shop. 2.25" is fine

suspension: depends on your budget. go with the strut bars front and rear. you have a factory front swaybar so you could really just go witht he rear. the front would be an upgrade but you have to drop the subframe to install it.

springs: if you dont want to drop the car that much and be lower in the back, then youll have to go with coilovers. YES, the cav has a slight rake, but when you try to level out the car. the wheel well gap isnt even. my personal suggestion is to go the eibach pro-kit (1.4" drop all around) and koni yellows. i cant recommend any coilovers because i have no experience with them, but others can chime in.

intake: doesnt matter...its just preference.

wheels: 5x100 you can fit up to 19's, but each time you step up thats more weihgt your adding so look into light weight rims.

good luck and do some more research. youll be able to find 99.9% of the answers to your questions by using the search button.

exhaust: 2.25" is going to be good for an n/a motor. if you are planning to boost, you may want to step that up a bit.

suspension: I would recomend pairing them, if your budget allows. I can not verify that you HAVE to drop the front subframe to change the front....I am pretty sure I have done cav sway bars without that step.

springs: it has recently come to my attention that some springs dont work well with the eco cavy's, and make them sit funny. since you have the 2.4, you should be fine. If you plan on actually changing ride height, go coilover. If you want to set and forget, go springs. Make sure you buy appropriate struts for the drop you are going for.

intake: It has been proven that there is little/no gain between the two on our cars. Get what ever you find a deal on, or what you like more.

wheels: 5x100 bolt pattern you can fit up to 19's, just make sure you get the correct offset, and depending on your area, and road conditions is what I would base my size on. im riding 17's, would do 18's but 19's are a negative in the pot hole ridden area of western PA.

of course i still think the GM supercharger is probably the best bang for the buck you are going to get....just an idea...

True, but that might be out of my price range for this project.

yeah, thats perfectly understandable....

People seem to like cutomtubes.com for exhaust, and the magnaflow muffler. just a suggestion.

I'm leaning toward magnaflow and I think I found a local guy that can get me custom mandrel bent pipes. After that I need to cosnider cats, resonators and headers. I'll probably put together my own cat-back system and likely go with magnaflow for everything.

I've been looking into the sway bar and from what I have read you don't need to drop the subframe. I think it's just a matter of working around the exhaust. Just from looking at it it doesn't look to be that involved. Can anyone confirm this?

i have an OBX 4-1 header, magnaflow high-flo cat, and a megan racing cat-back and i love it... but i like the magnaflow mufflers better...


Veritas Aequitas

For exhaust I would do a 4-1 header (I have an OBX that I'm selling cheap, going turbo) and 2.5" mandrel bent exhaust from Custom tubes it'll give you room to grow if you decide to supercharge later, ( I have their 3" for my turbo setup).

For suspension I would do springs & struts/shocks (least expensive) and Addco 26mm front & rear sway bars (I have Tein Coilovers, Addco 26 mm f&r swaybars, custom weld in frame connector's, neon rear disc brakes, 99GAGT alum front a-arms and 11" Malibu front hubs and disc brakes)

I would get a wai or cai just your preference there (I also have a wai for sale cheap, it won't work with the turbo setup.

For wheels I would run 18x7.5's 5x100 ( I have Riax Seca's $110 ea from Summit racing and they have dual bolt pattern for 5x115 and 5x100 )

I hope this helps.

Sway bar makes you want to cry, at least it pissed me off to no end.

That was because my car never had a sway bar to begin with though, so I have this bar, and a big empty space, scratching my head, going "I Know this goes in here, and what it does, but how the hell do I get it in there?"

You DO have to drop the subframe, but nothing crazy, it's like 8 bolts, you put a jack under it, and it will come down a couple inches, just enough to snake the bar in. It's a worthwhile upgrade, I don't regret it at all...

Going from blown struts and mounts, to Sprint Springs, Tokico D-Specs, Strut Tower Braces, Eibach Sway bars, and Solid Rear Mounts... yea... makes a HUGE difference, lol.


There will always be someone faster than you, but thousands slower and dumber than you.